Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens on the Affordable Care Act:
From the AJC Sept. 8: "I'll be real honest with you. I'm not going to do anything in my power to make this law successful. Now, I'm not going to violate the law. And I'm fulfilling all my responsibilities. But I'm not going to do anything to try to enhance its success."
“I don’t think that it’s a workable solution to the problems that we have.” “It’s going to lead to a single-payer system that’s going to compromise your health status.”
“I’m here to protect the consumers of the state of Georgia,” he said. “This is not working out the way it was supposed to. There’s so much uncertainty. These products are going to be phenomenally expensive. Buckle your seat belt after Jan. 1 because you’re in for a surprise. It’s not the Affordable Care Act, I can assure you of that.”
From a video posted online of an address in Floyd County:
“The insurance companies came in and they started talking about what’s going to happen to insurance rates when all the tenets of Obamacare go into force. They’re going to go up tremendously.”
“The young folks can expect a 100 percent increase in health insurance individual health policies. The medium age — anywhere from 50 to 100. Everybody. The older folks — 20 to 40 percent.”
“I didn’t want to get blamed for these increases” and the state passed a law requiring insurers include a note with bills in January saying rate hikes “are not due to any action by Georgia’s governor, Georgia’s general assembly, or Georgia’s department of insurance. The increases are solely due to Obamacare. He’s proud of it, let him take the credit.”
From Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe's Aug. 2 request for a waiver allowing a "private option" for Medicaid expansion: "In addition to improving provider access, reducing disruption across the continuum of coverage upon income fluctuation, and furthering quality improvement, our vision is to provide truly integrated coverage for low-income Arkansans. The demonstration will leverage the efficiencies of the private market to enhance continuity, access, and quality for beneficiaries and is expected to drive more competitive premium pricing for all individuals purchasing through the Marketplace by adding approximately 225,000 eligible individuals."
From Arkansas Insurance Department's ACA website: The Arkansas Health Connector. Our name says it all. We're connecting you to the information you need to make the best choice when it comes to covering your healthcare – whether it's getting better coverage or enrolling for the first time.
This is your guide to get informed, get prepared – and ultimately - get in.
